Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German bishops’ conference, issued a statement May 15 saying “several claims” made in the ZdK statement were “theologically unacceptable.” (Wikipedia Commons)

| May. 15, 2015

Top German Lay Catholic Group Pushes Communion for Civilly Divorced-Remarried and More

NEWS ANALYSIS: Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau called the appeal from the Central Committee of the German Catholics ‘incomprehensible.’

EDWARD PENTIN

PASSAU, Germany — A public dispute has broken out between Germany’s top lay Catholic organization and a German bishop, after the organization issued a statement calling for a raft of new pastoral practices, which the bishop and other critics say are opposed to Church doctrine.

The Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken (Central Committee of the German Catholics, or ZdK) issued a statement Sunday calling for the admittance of civilly remarried divorcees to holy Communion, acceptance of all forms of cohabitation, the blessing of same-sex couples and the reconsideration of the Church’s teaching on contraception.

The organization is heavily financed by the German bishops and overseen spiritually by Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart.

The ZdK’s appeals were contained in a document called “Between Teaching and Building Bridges With the Living World — Family and Church in the Modern World.” The statement, unanimously agreed upon at the organization’s general assembly in Würzburg in early May, was written in anticipation of the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family in October.

The document states that nonmarital forms of lived partnerships “make a great contribution” to social cohesion and have to be “treated justly.” It goes on to say that “values” are found in other forms of communal living, which “have to be honored, even if they are not to be found in the form of the sacramental marriage.”

“We think here of enduring partnerships [cohabitation], civil marriages, as well as civilly registered partnerships [i.e., homosexual unions],” the ZdK states. The document also calls for a “re-evaluation of the methods of artificial contraception” because of a “great discrepancy between the papal magisterium and the personal conscientious decisions in the daily life of most faithful Catholics.”

The organization further calls for “blessings of same-sex partnerships, new partnerships of divorcees and for important life-changing decisions within families.” It says liturgical forms should be developed for such couples and asks that the Church recognizes the “pastoral change that Pope Francis has called for, both as an encouragement and as a chance for the bishops’ conferences to develop pastoral paths concerning marriage and the family that are appropriate and theologically responsible.”

Bishop Oster

But the document met some stiff resistance from Bishop Stefan Oster of Passau, who said on his Facebook page the document was “incomprehensible.” If enacted, what the ZdK is proposing would mark a “dramatic change of much that has been valid concerning marriage and sexuality” based on holy Scripture, Tradition and the magisterium, he said.

Bishop Oster, 49, added that, through Revelation, the Church has always taught that “lived sexual practice has its only legitimate place within a marriage between a man and a woman, both of whom are open to the procreation of life and both of whom have made a bond that lasts until the death of one of the spouses.”

“This bond is called a sacrament and is strengthened with the help of God’s explicit promise to be the third party in this bond between the two,” he reminded. “He is the one who binds this relationship, who sanctifies it, makes it indissoluble and who is also again and again the source of salvation for them.”

Bishop Oster’s stance places him at odds with other members of the German bishops’ conference, who appear to favor some of the things the ZdK is proposing. The bishop criticized the ZdK’s emphasis on blessing same-sex couples because of the “values” they show and stressed the Bible’s teaching that any sexual relations outside of marriage are either fornication or adultery and have “very dramatic consequences for those engaging in them.”

He added that if blessings of such unions were allowed, would people supporting them only limit them to couples and not three or more people of the same sex? “Why not also bless these relationships?” he said facetiously. “They would nevertheless have lived ‘values’ within them.”

Bishop Oster said the ZdK omitted the “biblical image of man and the biblical understanding of Revelation” and that he found the lay organization’s unanimous desire to go along such a path “very troubling.”

He added that he did not see any statement from Pope Francis coming “remotely close” to what the ZdK was proposing and said the group was “instrumentalizing” the Holy Father for its own ends. Many Catholics, he said, “no longer feel represented by the ZdK today.” He closed by asking if it can really be the organization’s goal to confuse the faithful.

The ZdK responded to Bishop Oster, saying on May 12 that it wasn’t proposing a new understanding of marriage but was trying to “bridge a gap” between the magisterium and “experienced reality.” ZdK’s secretary general, Stefan Vesper, said it was not meant as an attack on Church teaching, but had to be read in the context of the entire statement. He said those who wish to implement these new pastoral practices are not “turning away” from the teaching of the Church, but, rather, towards it.

Vesper added that the faithful had been asked by the Pope to give their opinions ahead of the synod, and these “must be perceived” to be part of the synod’s deliberations. Critics, however, point out that the number surveyed was only 1,000-2,000 people — so few that the German bishops’ conference preferred not to reveal the exact numbers questioned. They also argue that such responses should refer only to the catechized faithful rather than the laity in general.

‘True Meaning of Marriage’

Prominent German Church commentator Mathias von Gersdorff noted that the ZdK’s initial statement failed to mention the “true meaning of marriage” and that the organization has shown that it fails to adhere to the magisterium, preferring to propagate ideas more common to television soap operas.

“No one needs a Catholic Church that falls to this level,” he said. “No one needs a ‘Central Committee of German Catholics’ that is no longer Catholic.”

Von Gersdorff also called the ZdK’s response to Bishop Oster “a joke,” adding that it merely “repeated its own points,” and the bishop’s arguments were not engaged.

Further comment on the ZdK statement came in a May 13 article penned by Felix Neumann, editor of Katholisch.de, the official Internet news site of the German bishops’ conference that is heavily financed by the church tax. Noting that Bishop Fürst did not veto the statement, he said the ZdK’s document was “not a provocation” and called the homosexual lifestyle a “matter of conscience.”

Neumann added that Tradition is “hollow, formal and unfeeling” and that any scandal lies not over same-sex unions per se, but “that it is still necessary to demand respect and appreciation for love.”

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told the Register May 13 that he had “no comment” in response to the ZdK’s statement, nor to the recent decision by Germany’s bishops to amend the Church’s labor law to allow “remarried” divorcees and those in homosexual relationships to work in Church institutions.

“I think it is a matter for the episcopate,” he said. German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, also declined to comment.

Despite the gravity of the potential consequences on the universal Church, the reasons for the Vatican’s public silence are not immediately clear. Subsidiarity and a decentralized system of authority is probably a primary reason, yet some critics speculate that hesitation may be related to fear of jeopardizing revenues from a wealthy German Church, as well as some sympathy for the pastoral innovations favored by many in the German Church.

On May 15, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German bishops’ conference, issued a statement saying “several claims” made in the ZdK statement were “theologically unacceptable.” He added that the blessing of same-sex unions and civilly remarried couples, and the “unreserved acceptance” of cohabiting same-sex couples, was contrary to “the teaching and Tradition of the Church.” Both issues “require further theological clarification, not hasty, bold claims,” Cardinal Marx said, adding that “theological debate and an inner-ecclesial dialogue are not promoted that way.”

Poles Apart: Cardinal Marx Rebuffed

However, Cardinal Marx’s May 15 intervention did not establish that he has abandoned his own promotion of changes to the Church’s pastoral practices with respect to some of the same issues.

The Register has learned via well-informed, high-level sources that Cardinal Marx was recently rebuffed by Polish bishops when he proposed that the two episcopates meet in Berlin to strive for a consensus on revising the Church’s approach to marriage. The Polish bishops have been firm about their continued support for Church teaching.

Well-informed sources say that Cardinal Marx made the proposal in early May, during lunch with Polish bishops at the 70th anniversary commemoration of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. The cardinal is understood to be anxious to win all-important Polish support ahead of the October synod.

Observers say this is another attempt by the German hierarchy aimed at increasing the pressure for change at the synod and carried out by bypassing the Vatican and, in particular, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

This would be consistent with comments from Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, a close adviser to Pope Francis, who said in a recent interview that the Curia “is not an essential structure” and that the Pope need only rely on himself and the “College of Bishops” to serve the people.

And yet the will of many in the German episcopate seems to be to continue the trajectory of imposing its vision on the rest of the Church in a way that many believe to be both heretical and arrogant.

It’s also an approach that has long been rejected by key German Churchmen.

In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, Cardinal Josef Frings, then archbishop of Cologne, said, after praising the Church’s heroism in resisting Nazism, “Our German people must listen to the word of God and must pass voluntarily on the way of conversion! That arrogance [of thinking] that we are a master race which other nations must serve has to disappear from every strata of society.”

Out of Germany came Martin Luther, Karl Marx, Fredderick Neitzche, Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler. Yes, Lenin was Russian but he was in exile in Germany. The Kaiser smuggled him back to Russia and bankrolled his revolution. The rest is history. Germany is the Pandora’s Box of Anti-Christ.

Posted by James on Monday, May, 18, 2015 12:24 PM (EDT):

“Deeply believe,” JeanLeroux? ...deeply believe…
“First we must ask what “to believe” means. Faith is man’s response to God, who reveals Himself and gives Himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life.” CCC 26
A fruitful suggestion could be to cease couching drives toward self-gratification in faux religious jargon. Adopt the perspective of the cross, and a lot of this will become clearer.
No one said it is easy.
And yes, J.A.C., that might be counsel you wish to adopt as well.

Posted by Jen on Monday, May, 18, 2015 11:35 AM (EDT):

Jean Leroux,
Pope Francis is not thinking, or teaching anything differently. It is the media that uses his phrases out of context to support the progressive agenda just as they have done with St. Pope John PaulII and Pope Benedict etc, The clergymen, scholars, most with with more education than a neurosurgeon, have not changed their doctrine. Your comments reflect the rhetoric of politicians, which has little to do with doctrine. There is another side to the propaganda that some of us have been exposed to since an early age. Please ask yourself why you feel emotional and why you think the viewpoints of others are offensive. Are we not able to handle diversity of thought? I know this may be hard to accept as accurate, but let us just say there is more than meets the eye. Catholic Doctrine supports good stewardship of the earth, charity for the poor, distributism ( which has a unique catholic meaning), and the family ...among other things. Christ’s teachings do no change even if people do. The real crisis here is the overreaching governments, the biased untruthful media, and the politicians who we should not trust. At the very least demonstrate the civility and tolerance to understand the other point of view. You may learn something.

Posted by Kate on Monday, May, 18, 2015 11:16 AM (EDT):

JeanLeroux:
You are right that many Catholics have a different perspective. These are Catholics that have not been well catechized. I would argue whether in fact they represent a majority. The Catholic Doctrine and The Bible are clear on these issues. One does not amend the historical facts of the faith to suit the misguided. If they do they historically have started a new faith. Those who do not follow the church’s teaching, the ways of Christ, basically commit the same original sin; that is, believing that they have authority and wisdom over God. In the last several decades it has been increasingly more difficult to teach the catholic faith as our public schools will not allow God, and morality in the classroom. Today, children are bombarded with progressive agenda starting as young as 6 years old. How can we expect these children during their young and future adult lives to understand truth, right from wrong, the wisdom of the papacy, etc., and the Catholic Doctrine? Our. Lord Jesus has been crucified in the process yet again. Amending Catholicism denigrates the faith leaving it subjected to the whims of fancy, during which it becomes meaningless.

Posted by sophophilo on Monday, May, 18, 2015 11:08 AM (EDT):

On May 16, Bishop Oster received a letter of support (for the entirety of his wonderful Statement, not just the few points mentioned by Marx), signed by five other German Bishops. It can also be found on his facebook-page.

It might be relevant for the assesment of the importance of these supporters to note, that we have 27 Dioceses in total in Germany. There also have been two other Bishops who, during the last several days but not as a reaction to the ZdK-Paper, have rejected such bold demands (Stephan Burger, Freiburg and Stefan Ackermann, Trier).

Posted by Donald Link on Monday, May, 18, 2015 8:05 AM (EDT):

John Schuh is exactly correct. My grandfather left Germany during Kulturkamff and never looked back. Bismark removed religion and thus morality, from the public square. Result: World War I with its mass casualties and brutal occupation of captured territories followed by World War II and even more death. The Catholic and Lutheran religions were regarded as little more than culteral artifacts like beer and cuckoo clocks. Today, with few exceptions exemplified by the dissenting churches such as LDS, religion has been removed from public life and along with it, firm moral standards. It would appear time the Pope became no more nice guy and spoke up.

Posted by Norman Shank on Sunday, May, 17, 2015 10:07 PM (EDT):

Very enlightening article, Ed. Now, in light of the German arrogance and heresy, is this not flagrant evidence of
diabolical infiltration within the Catholic Church?

Vivat Jesus,
Norn Shank

Posted by Rondre on Sunday, May, 17, 2015 5:36 PM (EDT):

Yes another bishop who has balls and smells like the sheep!

Posted by John Schuh on Sunday, May, 17, 2015 4:08 PM (EDT):

The German Church began its downfall when it made peace with Bismarck and began to think of itself as Germany first and Catholic afterwards. Now it is Germany first and only, and If I may be even more extreme, National Socialist but without the military parades and big oratory and showmanship.

Posted by Rene on Sunday, May, 17, 2015 1:50 PM (EDT):

These are the expectations, expectations that he cannot meet, that Pope Francis has raised among the “Spirit of Vatican II” liberals by some of his off-the-cuff remarks and by giving Cardinal Kasper a platform during the Synod of Bishops.

Posted by Laurie on Sunday, May, 17, 2015 1:46 PM (EDT):

If they cave to the demands of this group, we may as well call the culture the church and the people God. We do have a ferocious spiritual battle on our hands. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

Posted by JeanLeroux on Sunday, May, 17, 2015 10:56 AM (EDT):

The article ...and the vicious comments….fail to acknowledge that the Germans are saying publicly what most Catholics deeply believe in Canada, France, Australia, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium and other civilized, developed countries. American Catholics, at the least the ultra conservative ones, tend to believe that they, only they, possess rhe thuth within the Catholic Church. Sorry, but the good Pope Francis is currently teaching them a lesson and it ain’t over yet! Climate change, Cuba, immigration and ´amnesty’, the ´who am I to judge’, social justice, universal health care as a basic human right, etc. We are now light years away from Benedict’s preferred topics relating to abortion, sins and gay marriage. The Church is changing, as it has over 2000 years and thank God for it!

Posted by Jen on Sunday, May, 17, 2015 10:01 AM (EDT):

There is more than one way to build bridges and reach out to others. One should never compromise their beliefs in the process. It is simply not necessary and can only do harm to the civilized world and families, while confusing the faithful as well. This indeed is not inspiration from the Holy Spirit and it simply defies all logic with regards to the essence of human life. It is evil.

Posted by John Peter on Sunday, May, 17, 2015 9:59 AM (EDT):

Catholics, such as this organization should be welcomed to express their opinions, as this is an excellent opportunity for teaching of the truth of Church teaching. Their idea to “bridge the gap” between the Magestesrium and lived reality is a noble one…but they should be reminded that “Moses allowed diverse out of the hardness of your hearts, but in the beginning this was not so”. This is not meant to condemn, as Jesus never condemned, but to point out a higher expectation.. A holy one.

When those who are in cohabitation ask for acceptance of their mutual commitment, the Church should ask them How committed they are, if they avoid a Sacremental bond…. These are easy things to bring to a conversation. Since they brought up the subject..

I suspect that the German Bishops are a bit influenced by the financial support that flows from the state coffers collected as a church tax, and don’t want to alienate the tax payers…. Politician ism is an insidious chronic illness….

Posted by Kate on Sunday, May, 17, 2015 9:57 AM (EDT):

This is not an act of mercy with regards to the German clergy, rather it is nothing more than the smoke of satan. Let us pray for them.

Posted by Carol on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 10:42 PM (EDT):

Good for Oster. Nice to know at least one of the German bishops is still Catholic. The real question these past few years is ... where is Pope Francis? Why does he not condemn the errors of the majority of the German bishops? Why does he not aggressively challenge the Sexual Revolution, which plagues the West, and stand up clearly for Catholic teaching? Last news story I saw on him, he was spinning a basketball on his finger with the Harlem Globetrotters. Nice PR shot, but we need him to defend our Faith.

Posted by Howard on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 8:59 PM (EDT):

“Faithful? What is faithful about not being faithful?” Yeah, that kind of sticks out like a sore thumb, doesn’t it?

Posted by GarpFiddletwite on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 7:50 PM (EDT):

It is a measure of the abysmal failure of Catholic leadership that a proposal of this kind is even thinkable in the Church. And what is worse is the mind numbing statement of Muller that it is a matter for the episcopate! There isn’t even a chance that Catholicism will survive the next 25 years given the present hierarchy. I’m already out the door having chosen to live out my faith apart from a decaying community such as this and I don’t plan on looking back.

Posted by Theresa H on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 5:01 PM (EDT):

Today, in our overtly “secular” society, there is something the laity can do to assist the Church…. Pope St. JP II wrote a “letter” specifically to us, “The Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful People.”....Has anyone here read this document? You can find it on the Vatican Web Page—and all the other writings of our recent Popes (and all the Popes!).

Posted by Theresa H on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 4:42 PM (EDT):

I’m thinking of Pope Benedict XVI who gave so much to the Church in his voluminous writings, as well as his 7-8 years as Pope. Now, in the back—at St. Martha’s House he is giving his life in prayer for the Church; His heart must be breaking over Germany.

Posted by raphaelheals on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 4:24 PM (EDT):

The German and Swiss churches are on their way to schism with the Roman Catholic church. Ed Pentin always does an outstanding job!!! Thank you Ed.

Posted by Don on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 3:18 PM (EDT):

More evidence that the German Church is a hollow Potemkin village of non-believers who keep their attachment to the Church for cultural reasons but otherwise have no faith. I mean, really, the statistic that appeared recently that 60 percent of Gerreman Catholic do not even believe in an afterlife says it all. And they presume to demand that the faith be conformed to their desires?

It’s long past time to pull the plug on this nonsense. Pope Francis made a terrible mistake by opening this Pandora’s box (as payback to those who engineered his election?) but now it has gotten completely out of control. You can see from this list of demands that communion for the divorced and remarried is merely the tip of an iceberg. Kasper, Marx and fhe others know that once this “lynchpin” has been pulled everything else will follow. It will become unstoppable. Radical measures need to be taken by Pope Francis to put an end to this, but we all know he won’t take any action or make any clarifying statements before the synod. He’s going to continue to let this boil fester. Which, of course, begs the question: why?

Posted by christopher scott on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 2:13 PM (EDT):

“Building bridges with the living world” says it all. They(zdk)want to make the Church conform to the world. Jesus said “we are in the world but not of the world” and “the world has nothing to offer us”. We as followers of Our Lord should be conforming the world to us not visa versa! These folks(ZDK)are in serious error…

Posted by TerriChan on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 1:41 PM (EDT):

What I find to be most disturbing is the “silence” from and by the Vatican.

Posted by Tambe on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 1:29 PM (EDT):

Am surprised that Cardinal Marx is challenging this group. He sowed the seeds. Let him reap the harvest.

I would join is suggesting they move to the Lutherans (also state tax supported) but I’m not sure the Lutherans would have them. My late father, a Missouri Synod Lutheran was more theoligally orthodox than many of todays Catholics.

Posted by J.A.C. on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 12:00 PM (EDT):

just as it should be…those who are divorced and remarried have every right to receive Holy Communion…God bless all who agree with this…if the Pope wants priests to forgive those who have had an abortion then why not allow those who are divorced and remarried Holy Communion?? Dying to see what people have to say about that…

Posted by Theresa H on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 11:56 AM (EDT):

The USA is not in any better shape than Germany….In the USA: The “Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University Survey” that tracks Mass Attendance found that in 1965, 55% of American Catholics attended Sunday Mass on a regular basis; today, it is 24%.... Re. Birth Control, in March 2015, the “Millennials, Sexuality and Reproductive Health Survey” indicated that 71% of adults between the ages of 18 and 34 believe birth control pills are morally acceptable.” “When the Son of Man comes, do you think He will find faith on the earth?” (Lk. 18:8)

Posted by Steve B. on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 11:08 AM (EDT):

This so called “Catholic organization” is as far from Catholic as you can get. There is no contributed valve that can be offered that is in total opposite of what the Church teaches. Why hasn’t this group been condemned by the church?

Posted by TomT on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 10:50 AM (EDT):

I have questions that I can not seem to get straight answers for. Where in the world did ZdK ever get the idea that the Pope is in favor of all this?, and then I ask myself why was there silence after Cd. Kasper made the claims about his ideas on changes to the reception of the Eucharist that the Pope agreed with him on these issues, and who called for the synods to be open with no holds barred on what the good prelates wanted to discuss in the first place, and where did the statement about decentralizing the Church and giving bishops more autonomous ability to decide on pastoral care in their own regions come from??? When I take a serious look at all these questions the answers always seems to come down to whatever side of the equation you happen to be on however they seem to all have originated with the Pope who seems to backtrack after the damage has been done and re-state the remarks that seem to spring spontaneously from him. Seems to me we have a crisis of leadership here that is causing some serious confusion amongst the faithful.With a controversial
encyclical due out in June followed with an International and even more controversial speech to the U.N., I am afraid I am going to have many more questions that will have ambiguous answers again, depending on what side of the ideological equation you happen to be on. It has been going on since the second century and even many many centuries before that between the orthodox
Jews and those seeking change. Must be a condition of human existence but then I digress or maybe not.

Posted by Giacomo on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 10:13 AM (EDT):

Incomprehensible, as always (e.g. Jer 8:4-12, 1 Kings 18:21) but not unexpected. “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so they also oppose the truth—people of depraved mind, unqualified in the faith. But they will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be plain to all, as it was with those two.” (2 Tim 3:8-9). In chapter 24 of St. Matthew’s Gospel account our Lord doesn’t say things will get better in the world, only that “the one who perseveres to the end will be saved” 13. Those who can accept the Gospel will, by God’s Grace.

Posted by Fred on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 8:55 AM (EDT):

My thoughts exactly, El Zorro! There is nothing “faithful” about anything this organization claims. So extremely tired of these liberal groups trying to change the church to meet their immoral way of life. There are alternative faiths that already accommodate these practices, go join them.

So encouraged here in the US by Archbishop Cordileone! We will not continue to have faithful Catholics until they are instructed by truly faithful Catholics.

Posted by Sean on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 6:09 AM (EDT):

The German bishops reap what they sow.

Posted by Mal on Saturday, May, 16, 2015 12:57 AM (EDT):

The Church was not established by people. Definitely not by this group of Germans! Jesus, the Son of God, who founded the Church taught the people; he did not discus his teachings. Those who accepted his teachings followed him; the others left. These Germans have this choice.

Posted by El Zorro on Friday, May, 15, 2015 11:31 PM (EDT):

Rottenburg is right I can’t think of a better name for what is going on, and the C. Marx behind it is just too much to resist I suppose we will see a 3 volume work on his threory of church-enomics. Even better is the a “great discrepancy between the papal magisterium and the personal conscientious decisions in the daily life of most faithful Catholics.” Faithful? What is faithful about not being faithful? This is the kind of lunacy that reigns supreme in a world of non-existent catechesis and silence from the pulpit for a good 45 years. The best joke of all is that these so-called faithful Catholics claim to represent the actual laity, now would that be the 98 percent who don’t practice at all in Germany or part of the one or two percent who attend mass, or is it the ones who ticked the box for tax collection so they can get burried from a Church. Yup, reform is needed for sure. The sad fact is that these people are no longer Catholic but want to keep the brand alive under new management guidelines written by someone running for mayor of Sodom. Everyone needs to face an ugly reality and it is simple, there really are not that many actual Catholics in the world, all you need to do is look at a sampling of the US supreme court, and in fact there is a higher ratio of real Catholics there than in most places in the US. The music is going to stop sooner or later. On the upside apparently a communist Castro or two in Cuba are thinking of converting - all we have to do is be more “pastoral” for a little longer so they can make-it-up as they go and everyone will be happy - right! Silence in the face of error is wrong, the pope needs to take action and replace a few prelates and get a grip on things. It is in now way pastoral to allow error to have the upper hand, nor to leave the sponsors of such things in power.

Who are these people? Why are they involved? Why do they insist these views have something to do with Christian kenosis? Why do they cling to the Roman Catholic pedigree?
To give credence to error.
Does anyone really think this behavior will find its terminus when the Synod spins its finale? Not without concrete leadership animated by devotion to Holy Scripture, Apostolic Tradition and the Magisterium. One senses oneself peering into a vortex generating compulsion and revulsion. The lot of them are fast descending from the ideological to the pathological. And these men are termed bishops and retain their authority without challenge from their superior. The Chair seems to be abdicated silently with no acknowledgement that is has happened. Was this their end game all along?

Posted by Ana Milan on Friday, May, 15, 2015 7:58 PM (EDT):

ZdK should be given their marching orders. The German Church would be much better without their support if that support is conditionally given. Better a poorer church in financial terms than a spiritually depraved one. They can join the Lutherans who are much more eager to satisfy everyone as they are not the One Holy & Apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ and do not feel bound by His teachings & commandments.

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